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A set of old stairs on the beach where the cottages used to be located.

Surf

Found the reason why the generator is not running

Propane tanks adrift from storm surge. There was a strong propane smell around these tanks, I secured all the valves.

Where the propane tanks should be

Debris washed ashore during storm surge around north tower, including a section of dock

Second high tide after Hurricane Sandy, noon on Tuesday, flooding ground system

Three phase power line down due to wind

More wind damaged power lines

Telco wires taken down by trees

Generator room water level, as seen on the side of the battery

More work here tomorrow.

Update: Took longer than anticipated, but the station is back on the air with generator power as of 8:15 am, Thursday (11/1). Commercial power restoration is not expected until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest.

Update: Commercial power restored on Thursday, 11/8 for a total outage of 10 days. One good thing about incidents like this, I now have a fresh set of contacts for all the important people connected to servicing this site.

Last night, i went to bed and all was well with the world. This morning, I woke up and, Hey Now! It would seem there is trouble a brewing out in the ocean. The weather people are talking of some super storm, a combination of a category two hurricane and a winter blizzard with a tsunami and a bit of dust bowl thrown in for good measure. Okay, I made up the dust bowl part.

Here is the five day forecast:

Hurricane Sandy five day

It looks like the Mid-Atlantic coast is in for a direct hit, but the probabilities include coastal NY, NJ and CT. Thus, storm preparation has begun. Today’s list is as follows:

Perhaps this storm will be one of those over-hyped non-events. Only time will tell however. If it continues on its present course, then personal preparation will consist of:

Procuring a good flashlight with fresh batteries for the tool kit (perhaps several).

Taking care of household needs for the storm.

Full set of mechanical tools.

Some extra food and water in the work truck.

A change of dry clothes in the work truck, including shoes or boots.

Sleeping bag in the work truck.

Better to be prepared than to sit in wet clothes wishing it wasn’t so. More updates to follow.

Saturday, 8am Update:

During Hurricane/Tropical storm Irene, it was the rainfall that did the most damage. Looking at the current rainfall predictions, it appears the worst of it will be to the south by a good bit:

Hurricane Sandy Rainfall prediction

These things can change as the storm progresses, continuing with preparations.

Update, Sunday afternoon, 3pm:

The storm is still progressing more or less along the forecast track. Further to the south and in coastal areas, there is a strong possibility of flooding. Around this area and north, it looks like it will be a mostly wind event, with only 3-4 inches of rain predicted. Preparations are being finalized, I have added the chain saw to the truck inventory.

Political content warning: This post will contain statements that may include political points of view and/or be contrary to the narrative currently espoused by the corporate media outlets.

Vladimir Lenin

This election season, all the stops have been pulled out. Massive amounts of money have flowed into the accounts of political candidates for nearly every office though out the land. Over and over again, we hear political advertizements about this, that or the other candidate doing something unethical or just plain wrong. Is it true? Is it a lie? Does it matter? What effect does this have on the general population? If psychological studies are correct, hearing the same statement repeated several times, people will tend to believe it, even if they are not paying attention. As George W. Bush once said while he was President of the United States:

“See in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.”

This is the same mechanism used to brainwash people into religious cults.

Are we merely electing people because they have enough money to pay for the advertising required? Are they qualified to figure out how to fix the get the economy going again, or are they simply rich enough to buy the election?

At what point do we look at our own employment and our roles at various media outlets and wonder what connection that it has with the current political and economic conditions in the US? For myself, I almost never listen to the radio stations that I do work for, other than to evaluate technical quality. As far as the programming content, I honestly could not tell you whether station X plays polka or top forty. However, even with that limit listening and knowledge, it is impossible not to miss the political propaganda on the airwaves.

What role has the current media model played in the election of corrupt (or at least inept) public officials? What role is the current media model playing in the partisan, divide and conquer, keep the masses distracted while they finish looting scheme? When do we become concerned that, even in a small supporting role, we are enabling the brainwashing of the general public?

We all have our own financial responsibilities, that is true. However, perhaps it is time to step back and look at the big picture. There are many parallels in the history of humanity between the current situation in the US and other, long gone governments like Rome, The Ottoman Empire, The Weimar Republic and the former USSR. It’s time to ask, where are we going and what is going to happen when we get there?

This is a trip down memory lane. Someone has taken the time to preserve and document Radio Shack, its founding, history and all of the catalogs printed from 1939 to 2005. The website archive is Radio Shack Catalogs.

I remember reading these very catalogs cover to cover, when they came out in the mid 1970’s. At that time, this stuff looked expensive and in relative dollar terms compared to today, it was. We had one of these computers in our “Math Lab” in 9th grade:

Radio Shack catalog, TRS-80

In fact, when I found one of these computers stashed away in the corner of a transmitter site, I had a flash back of Mr. B scowling as yet another student made a mistake plotting x/y coordinates on the backboard.

Historic VLF (Very Low Frequency) station SAQ Grimeton will be on the air to celebrate United Nations Day on October 24th at 10:30 UTC (6:30am EST) on 17.2 KHz CW. This station was established in 1922 and is the last radio station in the world employing an Alexandersontransmitter. More information at their website.

This is a great 2011 video of a tour of the station, including transmitter start up:

It is great to see that old gear come to life and transmit a message. The electric motor/generator sounds like a jet engine spooling up.

Before solid state or even hollow state rectifiers, motor generators were used to create the DC voltages needed to transmit high power radio signals. This method was used by high powered Naval shore stations through WWII and beyond.

By way of comparison, an average CW operator can send and receive Morse code at about 20-25 words per minute. A good CW operator, about 30 words per minute and a Russian CW operator, somewhere near 50 words per minute. This was the main wireless data transmission method until Radio Teletype came into widespread use in the 1950s. Here is a comparison of data speeds through the years:

Method

Speed

Bits/S

CW

20 WPM

8.3

CW

35 WPM

14.58

Radio Teletype*

75 Baud/100 WPM

41.6

Radio Teletype*

100 Baud/133 WPM

55.41

Async data

300 Baud

300

Async data

1200 Baud

1200

Async data

9600 Baud

9600

Switched 56 (Switchway)

56KB

56,000

DS0 (POTS)

64KB

64,000

ISDN

64KB X2

128,000

DS1 (T-1)

1.54 MB

1,540,000

DS3 (T-3)

45 MB

45,000,000

Ethernet

10BaseT

10,000,000

Ethernet

100BaseT

100,000,000

Ethernet

Gigabit

1,000,000,000

The Morse Code (CW) and Radio Teletype data rates are not a direct comparison, as most radio teletype systems use 5 bit Baudot code instead of 8 bit ASCII. Morse code varied in length from one to five bits, if one thinks of each dot or dash as a data bit. Back in the day, before “Netcentric” mindset, we used mainly radio teletype to communicate from ship to shore. A premium was placed on brief, concise, operational communications. Everything else was sent via the mail.

It is quite amazing to see the increase in data speed, which directly correlates to information exchanged (or the ability to exchange information) in the last 90 years.

To receive SAQ Grimeton, one needs a VLF receiver or converter capable of receiving 17.2 KHz and a very quite receiver location. There are many VLF hobbyists that will be tuning in.

In my never ending fascination with broadcast transmitters, I bring you the Harris/Gates BC1H. This is an updated model of the BC1G, the main difference being the solid state audio and oscillator sections in the later H model. This design uses the simple 833 parallel final and 833 push pull modulator

Sales brochure, click to down load the four page .pdf

Harris/Gates BC1H AM transmitter

Schematic:

Gates/Harris BC1H overall schematic diagram

Harris/Gates BC1H

Harris/Gates BC1H Transmitter running at 1,000 watts into the antenna. Like many old tube transmitters, this sounds great on the air. The transmitter was made in 1975 and is in backup service. For a 37 year old transmitter, it runs like a champ and comes on consistently. Like the preceding Gates BC-1 models, this transmitter is rugged and reliable. My only comment is the transistors in the solid state driver section are no longer available. If that were to become an issue, one can always look up the tube audio driver from previous versions (T and H models). It would be a shame to throw away a good transmitter for lack of a couple of transistors, but I know some who have done just that.

This is one of the possibilities that has been bantered about as a solution for the “AM problem.” The theory goes as such; former TV channels 5 and 6 (76 – 88 MHz), which are not suitable for DTV would be an ideal place for the existing AM stations to move. That represents a 12 MHz chunk of spectrum, which is much more than the current 1.16 MHz spectrum the current AM broadcasting service takes up (.54 to 1.7 Mhz). An added benefit is that the VHF spectrum does not have the skywave “problem” that the MF spectrum does, thus many more stations could be licensed to the service. Everyone would benefit, AM stations would get a new lease on life in the FM band. The number of stations would increase by several fold, including LPFM, non-commercial and translators. AM stations would no longer be burdened with expensive directional arrays or sub standard audio quality.

It seems almost too good to be true…

The FCC reportedly promised “take a hard look” at this idea back in 2008. Four years later, one wonders what has become of it.

A quick search of the existing TV stations licensed to channel 5 and 6 reveals the flaw in this theory. The FCC has re-licensed many full powered and Low Powered DTV stations to channel 5 and 6 since 2008.

List of full power channel 5 stations:

Call Sign

Service

Status

City

State

Fac ID

ERP (kw)

HAAT (m)

Licensee

WOI-DT

DT

LIC

AMES

IA

8661

13.9

566

CAPITAL COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY, INC.

WGVK

DT

LIC

KALAMAZOO

MI

24783

10

169

GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY

WBKP

DT

LIC

CALUMET

MI

76001

6.4

301

LAKE SUPERIOR COMMUNITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION

KXLF-TV

DT

LIC

BUTTE

MT

35959

10

588

KXLF COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

KXGN-TV

DT

LIC

GLENDIVE

MT

24287

1

152.4

GLENDIVE BROADCASTING CORP.

KHAS-TV

DT

LIC

HASTINGS

NE

48003

45

217

HOAK MEDIA OF NEBRASKA LICENSE, LLC

WLMB

DT

LIC

TOLEDO

OH

17076

10

155

DOMINION BROADCASTING, INC.

KOBI

DT

LIC

MEDFORD

OR

8260

6.35

823

CALIFORNIA OREGON BROADCASTING, INC.

KIVV-TV

DT

LIC

LEAD

SD

34348

9.2

561

KEVN, INC.

WTVF

DT

LIC

NASHVILLE

TN

36504

22

425

NEWSCHANNEL 5 NETWORK, LLC

WMC-TV

DT

LIC

MEMPHIS

TN

19184

34.5

308

WMC LICENSE SUBSIDIARY, LLC

KCWX

DT

LIC

FREDERICKSBURG

TX

24316

23.7

412

CORRIDOR TELEVISION, L.L.P.

WCYB-TV

DT

LIC

BRISTOL

VA

2455

29.9

743

BLUESTONE LICENSE HOLDINGS INC.

WDTV

DT

LIC

WESTON

WV

70592

10

240

WITHERS BROADCASTING COMPANY OF WEST VIRGINIA

WIWN

DT

LIC

FOND DU LAC

WI

60571

9

338

WWAZ LICENSE, LLC

List of Low Power Channel 5 stations (analog):

Call Sign

Service

Status

City

State

Fac ID

ERP (kw)

HAAT (m)

Licensee

KSCT-LP

TX

LIC

SITKA

AK

15348

0.049

0

DAN ETULAIN

K05KF

TX

LIC

DILLINGHAM

AK

792

0.16

0

ALASKA CORP OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST

KRDN-LP

TX

LIC

REDDING

CA

127179

0.6

0

KM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

W05CO

TX

LIC

SARASOTA

FL

66995

3

0

THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC.

W05CJ

TX

LIC

KEY WEST

FL

125642

0.59

0

JAMES J. CHLADEK

DKHHB-LP

TX

LIC

HILO

HI

126233

3

0

KHHB, LLC

WIKY-LP

TX

LIC

EVANSVILLE, ETC.

IN

61036

0.14

0

ROBERTS BROADCASTING COMPANY OF EVANSVILLE, IN, LLC

K05IV

TX

LIC

PARK RAPIDS

MN

55374

0.019

0

RED RIVER BROADCAST CO., LLC

W05BV

TX

LIC

STARKVILLE

MS

21634

0.066

0

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

K05LU

TX

LIC

JEFFERSON CITY

MO

128520

0.11

0

HISPANIC CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY NETWORK, INC.

K05LY

TX

LIC

MOBERLY

MO

128560

0.1

0

HISPANIC CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY NETWORK, INC.

KSXC-LP

TX

LIC

SOUTH SIOUX CITY

NE

128012

3

0

VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC

K05KY

TX

LIC

LINCOLN CITY

OR

129190

2.25

0

MICHAEL MATTSON

K05KX

TX

LIC

TILLAMOOK

OR

129194

0.65

0

MICHAEL MATTSON

KRCW-LP

TX

LIC

PORTLAND

OR

35151

2.7

0

TRIBUNE BROADCAST HOLDINGS, INC., DEBTOR-IN-POSSESSION

K05LE

TX

LIC

ASTORIA

OR

129161

2.5

0

MICHAEL MATTSON

KJIB-LP

TX

LIC

CLEAR LAKE CITY

TX

21184

0.103

0

FAR EASTERN TELECASTERS

KLUF-LP

TX

LIC

LUFKIN

TX

28937

0.094

0

INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING NETWORK

K05EF

TX

LIC

BRADY, ETC.

TX

10043

0.068

0

FOSTER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, INC.

KTXF-LP

TX

LIC

ABILENE

TX

130840

0.665

0

KM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

List of Low Power Channel 5 stations (digital)

Call Sign

Service

Status

City

State

Fac ID

ERP (kw)

HAAT (m)

Licensee

K05FW-D

LD

LIC

GIRDWOOD

AK

796

0.061

0

ALASKA PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC.

K05ET-D

LD

LIC

LIKELY

CA

8240

0.25

0

CALIFORNIA OREGON BROADCASTING, INC.

K05CR-D

LD

LIC

HAYFORK

CA

68112

0.007

0

TRINITY COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

K05CF-D

LD

LIC

WEAVERVILLE

CA

71381

0.015

0

WEAVERVILLE TRANSLATOR CO., INC.

K05FR-D

LD

LIC

CROWLEY LAKE

CA

43512

0.06

0

MONO COUNTY SERVICE AREA NO. 1

K05DQ-D

LD

LIC

BURNEY, ETC.

CA

8314

0.045

0

BLUESTONE LICENSE HOLDINGS INC.

K05LI-D

LD

LIC

WEBER CANYON

CO

130882

0.0023

0

SOUTHWEST COLORADO TV TRANSLATOR ASSOCIATION

K05GA-D

LD

LIC

DOLORES

CO

61470

0.0052

0

SOUTHWEST COLORADO TV TRANSLATOR ASSOCIATION

K05JW-D

LD

LIC

ISMAY CANYON

CO

61449

0.0024

0

SOUTHWEST COLORADO TV TRANSLATOR ASSOCIATION

K05MD-D

LD

LIC

CRIPPLE CREEK, ETC.

CO

167809

1.5

0

TUCK PROPERTIES, INC. C/O LEE PELTZMAN

WRUF-LD

LD

LIC

GAINESVILLE

FL

4200

0.3

0

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

K05GL-D

LD

LIC

COOLIN

ID

53516

0.013

0

PRIEST LAKE TRANSLATOR DISTRICT

K05EY-D

LD

LIC

TERRACE LAKES

ID

23150

0.065

0

GARDEN VALLEY TRANSLATOR DISTRICT

K05BE-D

LD

LIC

LEHMI, ETC

ID

58708

0.013

0

SALMON TV TRANSLATOR DISTRICT

W05DD-D

LD

LIC

ST. FRANCIS

ME

39652

0.097

0

MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION

K05GM-D

LD

LIC

PLAINS-PARADISE

MT

52780

0.017

0

PLAINS-PARADISE TV DISTRICT

K05AH-D

LD

LIC

HOT SPRINGS

MT

27685

0.005

0

HOT SPRINGS TV DISTRICT

K05ML-D

LD

LIC

SULA

MT

181578

0.006

0

SULA TV DISTRICT

K05IZ-D

LD

LIC

HINSDALE

MT

27259

0.0034

0

HINSDALE TV CLUB

K05MW-D

LD

LIC

FERNDALE

MT

182548

0.024

0

SWAN HILL TV DIST

K05FC-D

LD

LIC

LAKE MCDONALD

MT

16754

0.005

0

CANYON TV

K05KK-D

LD

LIC

POPLAR

MT

53012

0.037

0

POPLAR TV DISTRICT

K05JU-D

LD

LIC

ELKO

NV

19401

0.1

0

ELKO TELEVISION DISTRICT

K05AF-D

LD

LIC

MINA/LUNING

NV

42702

0.07

0

MINERAL TELEVISION DISTRICT #1

W05AR-D

LD

LIC

BRYSON CITY, ETC.

NC

53896

0.089

0

WYFF HEARST TELEVISION INC.

WTVF

LD

LIC

NASHVILLE

TN

36504

3

0

NEWSCHANNEL 5 NETWORK, LLC

K05AR-D

LD

LIC

ROCKVILLE

UT

70962

0.031

0

BONNEVILLE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

W05AW-D

LD

LIC

CHRISTIANSTED

VI

70286

0.3

0

VIRGIN ISLANDS PUBLIC TV SYSTEM

W05AA-D

LD

LIC

ROANOKE

VA

73989

0.097

0

WSET, INCORPORATED

K05MU-D

LD

LIC

LEAVENWORTH

WA

187540

0.01

0

LEAVENWORTH NON-PROFIT TV ASSOCIATION

KCEM-LD

LD

LIC

CHELAN BUTTE

WA

64455

0.003

0

APPLE VALLEY TV ASSOCIATION, INC

List of full power Channel 6 stations:

Call Sign

Service

Status

City

State

Fac ID

ERP (kw)

HAAT (m)

Licensee

WUOA

DT

LIC

TUSCALOOSA

AL

77496

26

395

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF AlABAMA

WEDY

DT

LIC

NEW HAVEN

CT

13595

0.4

88

CONNECTICUT PUBLIC BROADCASTING, INC.

WCES-TV

DT

LIC

WRENS

GA

23937

7.9

429.4

GEORGIA PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

WABW-TV

DT

LIC

PELHAM

GA

23917

10.5

378.9

GEORGIA PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

KBSD-DT

DT

LIC

ENSIGN

KS

66414

31

216.8

SUNFLOWER BROADCASTING, INC.

KTVM-TV

DT

LIC

BUTTE

MT

18066

19.2

591.3

BLUESTONE LICENSE HOLDINGS INC.

KWNB-TV

DT

LIC

HAYES CENTER

NE

21162

11.9

221

PAPPAS TELECASTING OF CENTRAL NEBRASKA, L.P.

WRGB

DT

LIC

SCHENECTADY

NY

73942

30.2

392

WRGB LICENSEE, LLC

WPVI-TV

DT

LIC

PHILADELPHIA

PA

8616

34

330

ABC, INC.

List of Low Power Channel 6 stations (analog):

Call Sign

Service

Status

City

State

Fac ID

ERP (kw)

HAAT (m)

Licensee

K06LG

TX

LIC

CHUATHBALUK

AK

62827

0.052

0

STATE OF ALASKA

K06LP

TX

LIC

CIRCLE HOT SPRINGS

AK

62529

0.548

0

STATE OF ALASKA

KNIK-LP

TX

LIC

ANCHORAGE

AK

21492

0.92

0

FIREWEED COMMUNICATIONS LLC

K06MF

TX

LIC

KENAI, ETC.

AK

21490

1.44

0

FIREWEED COMMUNICATIONS LLC

W06BH

TX

LIC

PHENIX CITY, ETC.

AL

25207

0.06

0

GREENE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

KNJO-LP

TX

LIC

HOLBROOK

AZ

131162

0.475

0

KM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

KVFA-LP

TX

LIC

YUMA

AZ

131144

0.05

0

KM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

K06MU

TX

LIC

BIG BEAR LAKE

CA

63149

1

0

BEAR VALLEY BROADCASTING, INC.

KNNN-LP

TX

LIC

REDDING

CA

129249

1.5

0

VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC

KLOA-LP

TX

LIC

INYOKERN, ETC.

CA

28583

3

0

ROBERT D. ADELMAN

KCIO-LP

TX

LIC

VICTORVILLE

CA

11529

0.99

0

OBIDIA PORRAS

KRPE-LP

TX

LIC

BANNING

CA

129651

0.999

0

VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC

KUHD-LP

TX

LIC

VENTURA

CA

67963

0.999

0

OBIDIA PORRAS

KBKF-LP

TX

LIC

SAN JOSE

CA

127882

0.6

0

VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC

KEFM-LP

TX

LIC

SACRAMENTO

CA

127996

3

0

VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC

KXDP-LP

TX

LIC

DENVER

CO

67552

3

0

SYNCOM MEDIA GROUP, INC.

WHDY-LP

TX

LIC

PANAMA CITY

FL

130063

1

0

CONFESORA PERALTA

WEYS-LP

TX

LIC

MIAMI

FL

6035

3

0

ALMAVISION HISPANIC NETWORK

WDDA-LP

TX

LIC

DALTON

GA

131127

2.5

0

WORD OF GOD FELLOWSHIP, INC.

KESU-LP

TX

LIC

HANAMAULU

HI

131005

3

0

CHANG BROADCASTING HAWAII, LLC

WKQX-LP

TX

LIC

CHICAGO

IL

128239

3

0

WLFM, LLC

W06BD

TX

LIC

PRINCETON

IN

49243

0.014

0

NORTH GIBSON SCHOOL CORPORATION

WDCO-LP

TX

LIC

SALISBURY

MD

130439

1

0

SIGNAL ABOVE LLC

WJMF-LP

TX

LIC

JACKSON

MS

26253

2

0

KID’S TELEVISION, LLC

KGHD-LP

TX

LIC

LAS VEGAS

NV

130027

3

0

OBIDIA PORRAS

WMYH-LP

TX

LIC

ELMIRA

NY

125819

0.25

0

VISION COMMUNICATIONS, LLC

WXXW-LP

TX

LIC

BINGHAMTON

NY

129224

0.016

0

JOHNSON BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.

WNYZ-LP

TX

LIC

NEW YORK

NY

56043

3

0

ISLAND BROADCASTING LLC

WMBO-LP

TX

LIC

WESTVALE

NY

14319

0.3

0

METRO TV, INC.

WNNY-LP

TX

LIC

AUBURN

NY

41364

1.45

0

RENARD COMMUNICATIONS CORP.

WMTO-LP

TX

LIC

WANCHESE

NC

127802

0.6

0

RAY H. LIVESAY

WLFM-LP

TX

LIC

CLEVELAND

OH

6699

3

0

VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC

K06NI

TX

LIC

THE DALLES

OR

129153

0.25

0

MICHAEL MATTSON

WRTN-LP

TX

LIC

ALEXANDRIA

TN

125858

2

0

RICHARD C & LISA A. GOETZ

WPGF-LP

TX

LIC

MEMPHIS

TN

23848

3

0

GEORGE S. FLINN, JR.

KRGT-LP

TX

LIC

RIO GRANDE CITY

TX

57999

0.04

0

CTV BROADCASTING, LLC

KFMP-LP

TX

LIC

LUBBOCK

TX

129734

3

0

VENTURE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP, LLC

KXIT-LP

TX

LIC

AMARILLO

TX

130089

3

0

GEORGE CHAMBERS

KBFW-LP

TX

LIC

ARLINGTON

TX

127887

3

0

GERALD BENAVIDES

KZFW-LP

TX

LIC

DALLAS

TX

5316

3

0

DFW BROADCASTING, INC.

K06PB

TX

LIC

UVALDE

TX

67303

0.99

0

SUPER RADIO, INC.

WDCN-LP

TX

LIC

FAIRFAX

VA

20450

3

0

SIGNAL ABOVE LLC

K06OA

TX

LIC

EAU CLAIRE

WI

129139

0.9

0

MARCIA T. TURNER D/B/A TURNER ENTERPRISES

List of Low Power Channel 6 stations (digital):

Call Sign

Service

Status

City

State

Fac ID

ERP (kw)

HAAT (m)

Licensee

K06OR-D

LD

LIC

SEWARD

AK

168866

0.3

0

SEWARD MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC

K06AE-D

LD

LIC

PRESCOTT

AZ

35274

0.5

0

MULTIMEDIA HOLDINGS CORPORATION

K06HN-D

LD

LIC

GUNNISON

CO

25611

0.06

0

GUNNISON COUNTY METROPOLITAN RECREATION DISCRICT

K06HU-D

LD

LIC

ASPEN

CO

56704

0.006

0

PITKIN COUNTY TRANSLATOR DEPARTMENT

K06GW-D

LD

LIC

NEW CASTLE

CO

23159

0.005

0

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PUBLIC BROADCASTING NETWORK, INC

K06NT-D

LD

LIC

DOLORES

CO

130881

0.0052

0

SOUTHWEST COLORADO TV TRANSLATOR ASSOCIATION

K06NG-D

LD

LIC

SARGENTS

CO

126929

0.05

0

GUNNISON COUNTY METROPOLITAN RECREATION DISCRICT

W06AY-D

LD

LIC

LEBANON

KY

70498

0.3

0

GARY WHITE

K06FE-D

LD

LIC

MILES CITY

MT

35726

0.1

0

MMM LICENSE II LLC

K06AA-D

LD

LIC

BROADUS

MT

53167

0.088

0

POWDER RIVER T.V. BOARD

K06AV-D

LD

LIC

WOLF POINT

MT

73376

0.019

0

WOLF POINT TV DISTRICT

K06NV-D

LD

LIC

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS

MT

21710

0.06

0

MEAGHER COUNTY TELEVISION DISTRICT

K06JC-D

LD

LIC

CHADRON

NE

47977

0.066

0

NEBRASKA EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

K06KR-D

LD

LIC

CRAWFORD

NE

47991

0.028

0

NEBRASKA EDUCATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

K06PG-D

LD

LIC

LAUGHLIN

NV

11687

0.3

0

CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

K06KQ-D

LD

LIC

MANHATTAN

NV

14126

0.02

0

COUNTY OF NYE

K06MK-D

LD

LIC

ELKO

NV

19380

0.1

0

ELKO TELEVISION DISTRICT

K06HT-D

LD

LIC

ELY

NV

59129

0.053

0

WHITE PINE TELEVISION DISTRICT # 1

K06NY-D

LD

LIC

RYNDON

NV

128750

0.062

0

ELKO TELEVISION DISTRICT

W06AJ-D

LD

LIC

FRANKLIN, ETC.

NC

53884

0.193

0

WYFF HEARST TELEVISION INC.

K06NS-D

LD

LIC

CHILOQUIN

OR

8268

0.193

0

CALIFORNIA OREGON BROADCASTING, INC.

K06PM-D

LD

LIC

BEAUMONT

TX

128836

0.3

0

ROGER MILLS

K06JA-D

LD

LIC

CEDAR CANYON

UT

9712

0.015

0

CEDAR CANYON TV

Looking through this data, particularly the digital licenses which were granted since 2009, one an only assume that the FCC has, by de facto, nixed this idea if it ever considered it at all.

There has been lots of hand wringing and ink spilled regarding the sorry state of affairs in the senior service. AM is plagued with problems; interference, poor bandwidth, etc. To that end, the NAB has launched studies and initiatives and hired all sorts of pricey consultants to consult with. Here is my own AM improvement plan and it is rather simple:

Clean up the transmitter site.

Get rid of AM HD radio.

Variable IF bandwidth receivers.

Improve Programming.

How many of us have seen AM transmitter site dumps? Deferred maintenance, malfunctioning directional arrays, trees growing up on the ground system, flooded buildings and ATU’s, rusty towers, transmitters not a full power, ground system deteriorated or missing all together, just to list a few problems. Many AM transmitter sites are technical disasters. Think that these things have no bearing on the AM station’s signal? Think again.

Differed maintenance, AM transmitter site (there is a tower in there somewhere)

Trees growing around the tower base can attenuate the signal by 30%. A comment from a well known engineering firm:

…Recently XXX field engineers had occasion to measure an AM station at XXXX kHz before and after removing vegetation in the vicinity. The station had a quarter-wave tower. The base area had grown up in brush and hardwood trees to a height of perhaps 30 feet (9m) and this extended from near the base across the entire ground system. After clearing (cutting, no ground system disturbance), the signal measured at some 16 locations on four radials went up a uniform amount of about 15% or 1.2 DB. That’s about a 30% increase in radiated power…

That is an inexpensive power boost and they didn’t even have to file with the FCC! A 1 – 2 dB power gain is pretty nice and can mean the difference between a listenable signal and static. How many times have I heard the lament that AM band is full of noise and not listenable. Certainly, there are major challenges in the urban listening environment. Putting forth a better signal will overcome some of this electrical noise.

There is a reason why engineering standards were developed for the physical plant; they work.

There is no cure for the noise that AM HD Radio puts out into the adjacent channels. This self interference benefits none, not even the station transmitting AM HD Radio. This dubious technology has proved itself a non-starter and should be discontinued. For smaller station owners, the cost of implementing AM HD Radio is prohibitive. Licensing of a proprietary modulation scheme, new transmitting equipment, specialized exciters plus any needed bandwidth improvements to AM antenna arrays can easily exceed $100,000.00. Unfortunately, it is often the small AM radio operators that are making a good showing, and serving their community of license and making money. These are the very stations that are hurt the most by adjacent channel AM HD Radio interference.

Receiver design over the last twenty to thirty years has been the greater issue with perceived low AM broadcast quality. AM receivers have an average bandwidth of just 3-4 KHz, which is slightly better than telephone quality. AM broadcasting has gotten a bad wrap because of this and there are many comments about how AM is “inferior quality” to FM. With a quality older receiver, AM can sound very good. Of course, the receiver manufactures all point adjacent channel interference as their rational for reducing IF bandwidth. Why not leave it in the hands of the user? The GE Superradio had this feature with a “wide” and “narrow” setting for AM reception. They worked remarkably well. A receiver could also be designed to automatically increase IF bandwidth at higher received signal strengths.

Finally, as the saying goes; Garbage in, Garbage out (GIGO). This holds true for many things including radio programming. Expecting that mediocre satellite syndicated news talk will garner great ratings and huge revenues is silly. For years and years, station owners have put minimal effort into AM radio and expected big returns. It is not working. AM stations that go against that trend; those with unique formats (Gasp! Music, on AM?), local content, and community oriented programming can and do succeed. They are fighting an up hill battle in both directions. With all of the business pressures from larger broadcast groups, interference issues and negative viewpoint on the viability of the AM band, one wonders how long they can last.

Axiom

A pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optimist sees the glass as half full. The engineer sees the glass as twice the size it needs to be.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~1st amendment to the United States Constitution

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
~Benjamin Franklin

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
~Rudyard Kipling

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
~Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Article 19

...radio was discovered, and not invented, and that these frequencies and principles were always in existence long before man was aware of them. Therefore, no one owns them. They are there as free as sunlight, which is a higher frequency form of the same energy.
~Alan Weiner